Pre-season or Premier League, the rivalry between the two pinnacles of English football, runs deep. Liverpool and Manchester United square off on Monday in Miami, FL with the International Champions Cup Trophy on the line.
Both teams will be sporting a new look as Old Trafford now has Netherlands National Team Coach, Louis van Gaal at the helm. For Van Gaal, this will be his first ever taste of one of the better rivalries in soccer. Van Gaal replaces the much-maligned David Moyes as coach of the Red Devils who are coming off one of the worst seasons in team history.
United has not made a splash in the free agency and transfer market, but were rumored to obtain everyone from Jamie Rodriguez to Cristiano Ronaldo. They overpaid for Ander Herrera who will strengthen the middle for the Red Devils but they arguably will need more if they want to win the Premier League this year, especially with Van Gaal implementing a new system.
Liverpool is coming off a phenomenal regular season where they narrowly lost the EPL final after blowing a three goal lead in the second half. However the Reds, will also have a new look to them as Luis “The Cannibal” Suarez, now infamous for his bite of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, has been shipped off to Barcelona. Liverpool added Lallana, Lambert and Dejan Lovren from Southhampton, but will also need to add more fire power to make up for the loss of Suarez this season.
Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick will not play on Monday and Van Persie specifically will be a huge loss for Old Trafford. United still has Shinki Kagawa, Chicharito and Wayne Rooney and Van Gaal will most likely start the trio up front against Liverpool.
Liverpool is riddled with injuries as Daniel Sturridge, Jon Flanagan and Adam Lallana have all gone back to England to receive treatment for various injuries. New Liverpool signing, Lazar Markovic who is expected to be a great addition to the Liverpool is side will also miss the match. Liverpool will most likely promote Steven Gerrard to the starting lineup while Raheem Sterling will man the midfield.
Although the matches are only friendlies and pre-season tune-ups, Louis Van Gaal has won all four games he has coached thus far for United. Liverpool’s bevy of injuries might be their downfall in this match, and with both teams still tweaking the lineup, Manchester United should get the win and hoist the 2014 Guinness International Champions Cup Trophy.
The match is set to kick off at 8:00PM EST at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. It can be seen on Fox Sports One and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
My Prediction: 1-0 Manchester United.
Betting Odds courtesy of Bovada.lv:
Manchester United: -½ (-105) // (-105) Moneyline
Liverpool: +½ (-125) // (+250) Moneyline
Draw: +260
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